A Michigan city is considering legislation to deter white people who call 911 on innocent Black people.
The “bias crime reporting prohibition” would be part of a proposed human rights ordinance in Grand Rapids, Michigan, reports MLive.
The ordinance will be a topic of discussion during a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday evening. City Diversity and Inclusion Manager Patti Caudill hopes the ordinance will cause potential 911 callers to “check their biases.”
“Call the police, but if you’re calling because your neighbors are having a barbecue and you’re calling because of some implicit bias because they’re people of color, we don’t want to see that,” she told MLive.
The ordinance would make racial profiling a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of $500 per day following the incident.
Jeremy DeRoo, the executive director of advocacy group LINC Up, believes the ordinance is a step toward progress.
“We in the community have had various conversations over the last few years about disparities that exist in Grand Rapids,” said DeRoo.
“The human rights ordinance provides the infrastructure so that all these issues have a backbone supporting and addressing them. It creates a way to address a broad range of problems and to correct them.”
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DeRoo believes the police department is often caught in the middle of racial tension.
“Often times, the Grand Rapids Police Department ends up being caught in the middle of what is a bigger community problem,” DeRoo said. “They look bad because they approach individuals who are people of color, and it appears the police department is biased when really they’re responding to phone calls made by the community and it appears that a number of those are motivated by people in a discriminatory way.”
Politicians in Oregon are considering a similar measure. The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Janelle Bynum, who was the victim of a nosy 911 caller while she was campaigning in a Portland suburb last summer. Bynum was stopped by an officer as she went door-to-door to speak to her constituents last July, as Blavity previously reported. The responding officer left without incident after he realized there was no threat.
“I remember thinking I’ve done everything that I could possibly do to not have this happen,” she told Oregon Live. “I was very intentional about the things that I wore, intentional about my behaviors, always going from the house and taking my notes on the street in clear view, doing it the same way every time. Why those actions would stir someone’s curiosity was beyond me.”
The ordinance would not make the calls an arrestable offense. Instead, victims of the calls would be able to file a small claims lawsuit against the caller. If the victim wins, fraudulent callers could receive a fine up to $250.
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